There’s been a spate of fake news pieces that have gone viral in the past week or so.
Six Days of Darkness?
If a mega-viral article saying NASA confirmed six days of darkness appears outlandish at first glance, that’s because it’s totally fake.
The bunk report was posted on Huzlers.com, a satirical website.
Huzlers has a disclaimer at the bottom of each page: “Huzlers.com is a combination of real shocking news and satirical entertainment to keep its visitors in a state of disbelief.”
But that didn’t stop about a million people from sharing it on Facebook.
The “days of darkness” refers to Catholic prophecies about the end times. A few years ago, another bogus article said NASA had confirmed three days of darkness to coincide with the Dec. 21, 2012 Mayan prophecy date, which obviously wasn’t true.
Texas cannibals on death row
In the past few weeks, two articles claiming Texas death row inmates requested to eat a child went viral.
One said the Texas Department of Corrections granted an inmate’s request to eat an African child--which isn’t real. It was posted on satirical site Hip Hop Hangover.
The bogus article include fake photos and fake quotes.
“It’s also worth noting the mugshot circulating with later iterations of the rumor is neither of a man named Steven K. Walker, nor of a prisoner on Texas’ death row. The man pictured is Kyle Walker of Florida, who was arrested on a moving violation charge in the Sunshine State in July 2014. Walker was accused not of cannibalism, but of tailgating, flashing his lights, and honking his horn excessively,'” said hoax-debunking site Snopes.
But despite both fake reports being totally outlandish, people still shared them.
NJ bans Halloween over Ebola
Satirical site the Daily Currant posted a piece, saying “Governor Chris Christie has cancelled trick-or-treating in the state of New Jersey.”
But the article is merely satire, making fun of the US Ebola scare.
“The Daily Currant is an English language online satirical newspaper that covers global politics, business, technology, entertainment, science, health and media. It is accessible from over 190 countries worldwide - now including South Sudan,” the disclaimer for the site says.
Jaden Smith wants to cut off a body part?
An article saying Jaden Smith wants to “remove his penis” when he turns 18 is fake.
The bunk report was published on NahaDaily.com, a satirical website.
The article includes bogus quotes from Smith, the son of actor Will Smith.
NahaDaily has a disclaimer, which says: “NahaDaily is completely fictional and is based off of current events in urban culture and entertainment. This is satire and parody.”
However, a large number of people apparently believe the fake report, tweeting about it and sharing it on Facebook.
Ebola Doritos
On Sunday and Monday, users from the imageboard 4chan apparently started a hoax that says Ebola has infected a Doritos plant.
Those rumors are completely fake.
The 4chan users created fake CNN and Fox Twitter accounts and tweeted fake images to try and fool people.
“The various fake stories included some variation of Doritos factory workers testing positive and somehow infecting thousands of bags of chips,” reads an article from the New York Daily News. “The fake story started a hashtag #ebolaindoritos and additional threads on Reddit Sunday.”
Gabriel Iglesias isn’t dead
Comedian Gabriel Iglesias was killed off in a Spanish-language hoax article this week.
Iglesias took to Facebook to dispel the rumors.
He wrote: “According to this article below I guess I died Friday and no one decided to tell me. Well, since I’m dead now I guess I can start eating carbs again. It was a good life. Had a great childhood and an amazing career. I traveled the world and got drunk in all 50 states, woooooo!
“I made a lot of people happy over the years and pissed off most my ex girlfriends in the process. Can’t win them all, right? Soooo I guess I want to be buried somewhere people can visit my grave, put pretty flowers and pour diet cokes on my plot. I’m gonna want my estate to buy both plots next to me so that even in death I can stretch my legs. I would love it very much if people were to visit my grave and take selfies with it. Even in death I’m still a social media attention whore,#FarewellFluffy.”
Young Thug-Bill Gates spat?
Huzlers.com struck again this week, and this time, the site said billionaire Bill Gates asked rapper Young Thug to stop making music, offering him $9 million to do so.
It was picked up on social media.
Again, Huzlers.com is satire and shouldn’t be taken seriously.
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